Deadly Weather Hits Upper Midwest, East

February 1, 2013

(NEW YORK) — Wild weather is sweeping across several states, leaving twisted metal, debris and death in its wake.

Several chain-reaction crashes have been reported, including a 30-vehicle pileup along Interstate 75 near Detroit that resulted in the death of an adult and two children, and sent more than a dozen other people to local hospitals with injuries.

Interstate 70 near Plainfield, Ind., is closed in both directions after a pileup involving dozens of cars and trucks. It may remain closed until late Thursday night.

Strong winds, slick roads and blinding snow squalls were cited as reasons for both incidents.

“We see these things happen several times during the winter season,” Alex J. Sosnowski, an expert senior meteorologist at AccuWeather.com, told ABC News. “Interstate highways are one of the worst places to be when something like this is going on. Weather can vary tremendously over short distances and if you’re driving at high speeds, you amplify those changes and may not have enough time to react.”

Roads are not the only places feeling the impact of a big buckle that occurred in the jet stream.

Tornadoes rolled through northwest Georgia Thursday, killing at least two people, demolishing homes and tossing vehicles like rag dolls near Interstate 75. Georgia Power is working hard to restore electricity to nearly 10,000 customers who lost it because of the storms.

“Anytime you have a temperature contrast like this, especially where they meet in the middle, there’s going to be some problems,” said Sosnowski.